


Kid Nothing vs. The Echo Factor

by corruptedkid



Category: Bandom, Cobra Starship, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-01 21:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14529339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corruptedkid/pseuds/corruptedkid
Summary: It’s like this - Mikey is hot. He’s also Gabe’s utterly clueless best friend.





	Kid Nothing vs. The Echo Factor

**Author's Note:**

> so uh. how 'bout those rarepairs
> 
> i originally wasn't going to post this but then i realized i hadn't posted anything in like... five months.... they've been busy busy months, as i'm currently busting my ass over two different frerard wips, but i figured it was time you guys got some content from me! so here ya go. this is my contribution to the tragically tiny gabe/mikey tag.

Gabe heaves a sigh. “Mikey Way, dude. Mikey fucking Way.”

He’s lying on his back, his head hanging off the edge of Pete’s bed so he can see the TV screen. It’s hard to follow the action while he’s upside down, but he’s not really trying to. He’s mostly just brooding. He only allows himself to be an emo loser once in a very long while, and he’s cashing in on that privilege now, because god damn it, these are dire circumstances. 

Pete’s munching on a bowl of popcorn next to him. “Mikey fucking Way,” he echoes. There’s really nothing left to say. Gabe has been trying for over a year to get Mikey to take a hint, but the situation is as hopeless as ever. 

It’s like this - Mikey is hot. He’s also Gabe’s utterly clueless best friend. Gabe’s tried everything: sending shitty pickup lines, offering his everlasting love, complimenting Mikey’s ass, but none of it works. Normally, he’d take it in stride and keep on trying. But tonight is his emo loser night, and it’s a little hard not to feel discouraged. 

“I don’t get it,” Gabe says morosely. “I’ve done everything. I hit on him all the time, I’m touchy with him, I ask him to marry me - ”

“You do that with everyone,” Pete says through a mouthful of popcorn. 

Gabe makes a wounded noise. “That’s not the same! I put effort in with him. It’s _meaningful_.”

“How’s he supposed to know that?” Pete asks. 

Pete is criminally unhelpful, as usual. Gabe sighs and rolls over. “I wish he’d just fucking realize already,” he says, reaching into the popcorn bowl and stuffing a handful into his mouth. It tastes like butter and sadness. 

“Well,” Pete says thoughtfully. “You could just - “

“I can’t just tell him,” Gabe interrupts. “That’s not my style. I’ve gotta make sure he’s picking up what I’m putting down, and then he can make the first move.”

Pete laughs. “Dude, you make the first move all the time. How many girls have you hit on by now? It’s gotta be everyone in our grade.”

“That’s different!” Gabe protests. “I don’t actually _like_ them!”

“You can’t put off talking to him forever ‘cause you’re scared he’s gonna reject you.” Pete throws a piece of popcorn at Gabe’s face. Gabe tries to catch it in his mouth, but misses, and it bounces off his cheek onto the floor. 

“I’m not scared,” he says delicately. “I just want him to ask me out, okay? Just you wait, it’s gonna happen.”

“Sure,” says Pete, licking salt off his fingers. “Just like it has all year.”

Gabe flips the popcorn bowl over into Pete’s lap. Pete yelps and shoves Gabe back, and Gabe falls off the bed, and then they’re too deep in a tackle fight to keep discussing the woeful state of Gabe’s romantic life.

Gabe is privately relieved.

***

“Michael James Way!” Gabe crows. “Light of my life, my eternal soul!” He flings an arm around Mikey’s shoulder, ruffling his hair. Mikey almost smiles, letting Gabe walk him down the hall.

“Hey, Gabe,” he says. “What’s up?”

“Depression,” Gabe says. “A deep, endless pit of depression. Mikey Way didn’t send me a good morning text. It was awful and inconsiderate and I’ll never recover.”

Mikey makes a face. “Don’t blame me. Gerard forgot his sketchbook and we had to go back for it, he almost made me late for first period.”

Gabe tsks. “But how could he overlook the real piece of art in his life? Who needs a sketchbook when you’ve got a brother like -”

“Mikey!” a familiar voice shouts. Pete appears out of nowhere, jumping up to throw his arms around Mikey like a koala. Mikey staggers, his glasses slipping to the end of his nose. “Did you do your half of the history project? Please say you did, ‘cause I totally forgot to do mine!” Pete grins wide, showing all his teeth. 

“I did it,” says Mikey. Pete’s still clinging to him; the weight makes him hunch over. “You’d better finish your fucking part during study hall, though, or - ”

“No worries!” Pete finally looks over at Gabe, wiggling his eyebrows. “So, any luck on last night’s dilemma?”

“Not yet,” Gabe says lightly. “But I’m a master in the art of subtlety. You’ll see, young Wentz. You’ll see.”

At that, Mikey actually does let a rare giggle slip through. “You? Subtle?”

“Fuck you, Mikeyway, I’m subtler than you’ll ever be!”

“I somehow doubt that,” Mikey says with a straight face, adjusting his glasses. 

“You’ll see,” Gabe repeats. 

He knows his plan will work. He left a note in Mikey’s locker, all secret-admirer style. To be fair, Mikey has a lot of secret admirers - how couldn’t he, with that jawline? - but Gabe’s note is special. It practically screams _Gabe Saporta wrote this._

It’s pretty much a haiku about how he wants Mikey’s dick, but he’d like to think it’s more elegant than that.

***

Mikey recognizes Gabe’s handwriting right away. He half-smiles, rolls his eyes, and tucks the note into his backpack. “Thanks,” he says. “Really eloquent. I mean, really. They’ll be calling you Shakespeare soon.”

“I know, right?” Gabe exclaims. Mikey straightens up, and Gabe waits for him to say something more, but he just launches into a retelling of his and Pete’s awful history presentation.

Gabe wants to kick something. 

“What the fuck do I do, Pete?” he wails later that evening. “I’m being as obvious as I possibly can! Should I send him a dick pic or something? I feel like that’s my only option here!”

“Dick pics are never the only option,” Pete says, wincing. “Trust me.”

“He’d probably think it was a joke, anyway,” Gabe said moodily. “Why is my life so miserable?”

Pete snaps his fingers in front of Gabe’s face. “Dude, get your head out of your ass. This is a fixable problem - just ask him out! It’s not the end of the world if he says no.”

“He wouldn’t say no,” Gabe mumbles. “I’m hot shit. Why would he say no?”

“Then fucking ask him!” 

“I can’t,” Gabe whines. “I need to think of something else. Like, maybe I could get him something? Flowers? Or… fuck.” He runs his hands through his curly hair, bewildered. “Fuck, how do you even do this? What would he want?”

He thinks for a minute, then the lightbulb goes off. “Do you think I should get him concert tickets?” he says excitedly, looking to Pete.

“I’ve already told you what I think,” Pete points out.

“You’re right, and it was useless.” Gabe claps him on the shoulder. “Thanks for the useless advice, Petey! Talk to you later.” He grabs his bag and darts out of Pete’s bedroom, a plan already beginning to take shape in his mind.

***

Gabe pokes Mikey in the back. “Mikey,” he hisses. Mikey glances over his shoulder.

“What?”

“I’ve got something for you.” Gabe probably should have waited until after class to give Mikey his gift, but he’s vibrating out of his seat, he’s so excited. He hands Mikey the envelope and watches with a broad grin as Mikey tears it open.

They’re interrupted by the voice of their English teacher. “Passing notes in class, are we, Mr. Way?” Mrs. Hobbs asks severely. 

Mikey freezes. 

“Bring that here, young man.”

Mikey slips out of his seat and drops the envelope on her desk. Gabe lets his head fall onto his desk with a _thunk_. 

“Sorry,” Mikey whispers as he slides back into his seat. “You know how she is.”

“It’s okay,” Gabe says, forcing a smile. “My bad. It wasn’t a big deal, anyway.” 

It kind of was, considering he just blew forty bucks on tickets to Thursday and will probably never see them again, but hey. It’s not like luck has ever been on his side. 

Mikey turns to face the front of the classroom, and Gabe sighs.

***

“You’re so dumb,” Pete says, grinning. He’s watching Gabe carefully ink a handwritten letter to Mikey, occasionally tossing out suggestions or insults. Neither are particularly helpful - even if Pete does come up with better words than Gabe ever could.

“Shut up,” Gabe mutters, concentrating on keeping his hand steady as he colors in a flower at the edge of the paper. It’s shit compared to anything Gerard could draw, but whatever. Gabe’s drawings are shit, his love notes are shit, his personality is shit, and that’s okay! He’s one of those lovably terrible people. Mikey won’t be able to resist him.

Hopefully.

Gabe’s wrist twitches, streaking a dark line of red across the paper. He swears and tries to wipe it away as quickly as he can, but it’s hopeless. The red smear goes right through the words, and not in the artsy kind of way that could be passed off as intentional. It’s obvious that he fucked it up.

Gabe makes a frustrated noise. “What the fuck am I doing?” he asks. “Like, seriously. This is stupid, all of it.” He crumples the note into a little ball, throwing it at the wall. Mikey’s way out of his league anyway, with his quietly cool demeanor and his hazel eyes and his entire fucking existence. 

Pete watches him for a minute, his eyebrows raised. He’s doing a bad job fighting off a grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get nervous over a crush,” he says. “It’s fucking weird, man. Like seeing a bear in a parking lot or some shit.”

“I’m allowed to be nervous,” Gabe mutters. “I like him.”

“Yeah, but… it’s just weird. Usually when you like people you get over it as soon as you’ve hooked up.” Pete’s face lights up. “Oh my God! That’s it, you just have to hook up with Mikey!”

“I’m not hooking up with him until he’s asked me out,” Gabe says with a scowl. 

Pete furrows his brow. “Seriously?”

“Yes! Why should that be so fucking shocking?” Gabe snaps. He wants to hook up with Mikey, obviously, but first he has to make it explicitly clear that there are strings attached. Mikey’s been oblivious so far; there’s no telling if he’d draw that conclusion on his own or not. Knowing Gabe’s luck, he’d just want to be friends with benefits or something. 

Pete is silent for a minute.

“Wow,” he says. “You’re actually kind of fucked up over this, aren’t you?”

Gabe swivels around in his wheelie chair to face Pete. “Yes,” he says angrily. “I am fucked up over it, actually, because contrary to popular belief, I am a person with feelings. I thought I’d made it pretty obvious that this matters to me, but I guess it’s not just Mikey that doesn’t realize _shit_.” 

He spins back around, glaring at the wall. He doesn’t want to look at Pete. 

Maybe it’s his own fault no one knows when he’s serious. The one thing he loves most about himself is his ability to speak what he’s really thinking, and that’s what fucked him over in the end. Mikey’s never gonna take him seriously. 

God damn it.

“I’m sorry,” Pete says softly. 

“Don’t care,” Gabe says under his breath.

“No, really. That was a dick thing to say, I’m sorry.” There’s a rustling sound as Pete slips off Gabe’s bed and pads toward him. Gabe doesn’t turn around. A moment later, Pete’s hand comes to rest on his shoulder. “You’re overthinking this. Just talk to Mikey, get it over with, and if he says no, you won’t have to be beating yourself up anymore.”

Gabe closes his eyes.

“Okay,” he says. “Yeah. Okay.”

***

Gabe is going to die. 

This isn’t how he thought it would go. This isn’t how he _wanted_ it to go. In a perfect world, Mikey would succumb to his boyish charms and ask him on a date, and they’d watch a movie and make out and have mindblowing sex and everything would be awesome.

But this world has proven many times over that it is far from perfect, and that’s why Gabe is waiting for Mikey outside his physics class, his hands buried in his pockets so they don’t shake.

When the bell rings and Mikey steps out of the classroom, Gabe almost chickens out. He almost grins and waves and strikes up a totally different conversation than the one weighing on his mind. But Pete was right. He needs to end this, whether it’s a happily ever after or a happily never after.

“Can we talk?” he blurts out before he can change his mind.

Mikey raises one eyebrow. “Sure,” he says. Thankfully, he doesn’t ask questions. He just lets Gabe guide him away from the crowded hallway and into a secluded little nook, where they won’t be overheard.

Gabe lets out a slow breath. His pulse is hammering. He looks into Mikey’s eyes, steels himself, and says, “Mikey Way, you are the single most oblivious person I have ever met, and I have a huge fucking crush on you.”

Mikey nods. “Yeah. And?”

Gabe blinks.

Mikey keeps a straight face for a second, then the corner of his mouth twitches. The twitch grows into a broad grin, and then he’s laughing, doubling over and full-on laughing like Gabe’s never seen before. “Holy shit,” he gasps. “Your face. Oh my God. Motherfucker, did you seriously think I didn’t _know_?”

Gabe is definitely going to die. 

His heart has long since plummeted into his feet, but he locks the hurt away and shrugs. “Sorry, just thought you should know. You don’t have to be an asshole about it.” He doesn’t try hard enough; the words are unmistakably bitter. 

Mikey stops laughing abruptly. 

He looks at Gabe, wide-eyed. “Goddamn,” he says. “You were wrong. I’m not the most oblivious person ever, _you_ are.”

And then he leans forward on his tiptoes and presses his lips to Gabe’s.

Gabe’s brain short-circuits for a second. Once everything’s in working order, though, he wraps his arms around Mikey and kisses him hard, his heart singing with the feeling of Mikey pressed close against him. It’s better than he’s ever imagined. And it’s _real_.

Gabe can feel Mikey smiling against his lips. It starts out as a smile, then he giggles, and then he breaks away from Gabe in a fit of laughter. “Sorry,” he wheezes. “Sorry, I’m just - how? How the _fuck_ could you think I didn’t know?”

“You never said anything!” Gabe says indignantly. 

“Well, yeah,” Mikey acknowledges. “But you were losing your shit. It was kind of fun to watch. And it made you get me free concert tickets, so.”

“That’s - ” Gabe starts, then shuts his mouth. He eyes Mikey suspiciously. “Wait, how the fuck did you know about those? Mrs. Hobbs confiscated them.”

Mikey’s mouth twitches again.

Gabe’s jaw drops. “Pete,” he says furiously. “Did he tell you? Did he know you liked me back and not tell _me_? That little piece of shit, I’m gonna pound his fucking face in - ”

“No, don’t. It’s my fault. I made him promise not to say anything to you,” Mikey says apologetically. “I didn’t want you to find out through him.”

“Why couldn’t you have told me, then?” Gabe accuses. “You put me through all this heartache - and it was heartache, Mikey fucking Way, heartache like you’ve never known - and you could’ve fixed it any time you wanted!” He’s still a little pissed off, but now he’s fighting back a smile, too.

“Well,” Mikey says with a grin. “I guess we were both waiting for each other to get our shit together.”

“You’re a sadist,” says Gabe.

“Maybe.”

Gabe quirks an eyebrow. “Kinky.”

Mikey groans. “Oh God, don’t start - ”

“I am most absolutely starting. Let’s see, what have we learned here… You’re a kinky sadist, kind of an asshole, a good kisser, and going to the movies with me this Friday,” Gabe finishes smugly.

Mikey considers it for a minute. “Do you put out on the first date?” he asks.

“Mikey!” says Gabe, shocked. “What kind of girl do you think I am?” A beat, then: “Of course.”

Mikey smiles and bites his lip, and oh, hello, Gabe would be down to see that again, thanks. “Cool.”

“Cool,” Gabe repeats.

“So, just to make everything clear to you, the idiot who somehow didn’t notice that I like you - ”

“We’re dating now,” Gabe finishes.

“And that’s cool,” says Mikey.

“It’s very cool.” Gabe links arms with Mikey. “Now let’s go make fun of Pete for being single.”


End file.
